Saturday, February 19, 2011

Grab On to Some ALL-NEW DUCKTALES!

Obviously, I'm tickled by the news that a DUCKTALES comic struck from the same basic mold as DARKWING DUCK (literally, as well as figuratively; the two comics are described as being "set in the same universe") will be coming our way starting in May. I also now capiche the lengthy presence of video-game author Warren Spector in the "Musings from the Money Bin" section of UNCLE $CROOGE #400. That wasn't just a "fanboy" talking, that was a future Boom! scriptwriter, and with an Epic (as in Mickey) background, no less. If Spector's flair for electronic epics translates well to the printed page, then we could be treated to delights akin to Bob Langhans' "The Gold Odyssey," only with much flashier art, courtesy of Miquel Pujol, the Catalan artist whose beautiful "The Great Paint Robbery" I was fortunate enough to dialogue for Gemstone. The artist of "Paint Robbery" handling a DUCKTALES adventure? Back in the late 80s, I never would have believed it. But then, I never thought Disney Comics circa 1990-91 would rise from the ashes, either, and that seems to be what Boom! is slowly becoming.

Greg Weagle (whose LiveJournal page was the source of this news) speculates here on what Disney animated project could get the next Boom! treatment. I'm not sure what to think about the muddled TaleSpin situation, but I figure that, the more trouble Boom! has in securing a license to a property, the less likely it would be that the company would follow through. Gargoyles would seem to be a good choice in light of some of Boom!'s non-Disney action/hero projects, but I'm still holding out some hope for Gummi Bears. If Boom! thought that a Muppet Show revival was a good idea, then why not "go Gummi"?

6 comments:

Ryan Wynns
said...

that was a future Boom! scriptwriter, and with an Epic (as in Mickey) background, no less. If Spector's flair for electronic epics translates well to the printed page, then we could be treated to delights akin to Bob Langhans' "The Gold Odyssey,"

Bingo! The right pieces are in place for this to turn out very good, indeed!

Gargoyles would seem to be a good choice in light of some of Boom!'s non-Disney action/hero projects

I'm rooting for this. (Preferably with Weisman himself writing, picking up where he left off at Slave Labor Graphics.)

but I'm still holding out some hope for Gummi Bears.

When I asked about this at the New York Comic Con, they were clever to not give a straight "yes" or "no", but they teasingly acknowledged that I certainly wasn't the first person to have brought it up to them. And when I lobbied, "It could really be done in an epic, adventurous way!", one particular BOOM! editor looked almost momentarily startled, and then responded with a resounding "Yes!" and a concordant nod (my interpetation of his mannerisms, anyway) that I took as affirming that he knew exactly what I was talking about.

Chris: Absolutely. I don't mean to blindly praise the comic before reading it, but Spector's heart and head seem to be in the right place, so I'm optimistic.

Anonymous: With each successive BOOM! Disney Afternoon comic, I'd say it's highly likely that Tale Spin is near the top of the queue...except there's been some mumblings about a couple technical hurdles. However, I'm holding out hope here, too, in that things can be worked out.

Well; my comment on Gargoyles was in jest mainly because Disney already took one kick in the can with Gargoyles and they blew it from what I heard from sources.

Gummi Bears actually would be a really safe bet to produce since it doesn't have licensing issues and it's really safe BS&P wise. Very little truly objectable content.

TaleSpin problems have less to do with licensing and more to do with how to actually write a TaleSpin comic. While TaleSpin fans can be a tolerant bunch; we can be brutal when we see something that sucks since we are so used to TaleSpin not having the clunker factor of other shows.